The Dragon and the Princess
by Mew2x
Summary: A young princess, Lucy Heartfilia, was playing hide and seek. Then, she enters to a maze and suddenly got lost. Having trouble getting out, she heard a footstep. Then, she suddenly saw a boy hiding in the shadow. Didn't know who he was, or what he was. After hiding in the hedge, the boy appeared to be different. His name is Natsu Dragneel. And he is half-human, half-dragon.
1. Chapter 1

A long time ago, there was a small town called Magnolia. In the center area, there was a huge castle living by the royal family. The exterior was like those European buildings, that only made for middle and high class clans. The family, the Heartfilia, were the rulers of the town. Their King, Jude Heartfilia, was a strict man who worked everyday for the town of Magnolia. But he spared most of his time for his family, they were his joy and happiness. The king knew what he needed to do for his family, for his people, and for Magnolia. His Queen, Layla Heartfilia, was the jewel of the family. She was kind, cheerful, and a wonderful person. For Jude, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He love her very much. And their Princess, the star of the family, Lucy Heartfilia, known as the Lucky Lucy of Heartfilia. She was a cheerful girl. So much, she resembled her mother. She was their only precious daughter in the world. They taught her of what was like to be a princess, and soon she will be a Queen. The family was happy. They have everything they wanted. Balance life in the family and their work, as a royalty, for the town of Magnolia. Happiness is what made their lives easier.

One night, on Lucy's 6th birthday, friends and family gathered together in the castle to celebrate the young princess' special day. A young prince, who came from another kingdom, handsome and intelligent, came to congratulate Lucy. Lucy was a shy girl. She would hold her mother's dress and hide behind her mother's back. But Layla told her daughter not to worry. "Lucy, this is Prince Loke. He is two years older than you. And he is known as the young Lion Leo of the Celestial Kingdom", she said. Layla wished for Lucy to be good friends with Loke. But Lucy was still shy, meeting someone she doesn't know. As Loke acted like a gentleman, he placed his left hand on his stomach, the other at the back, bowed down to her, and said, "I hope we will get along well, princess". When Lucy realized that he was trying his best, she didn't want to disrespect him. Lucy slowly walked towards Loke, showed her pretty smile, and asked to shake hands with her. "Let's be friends, okay". Loke was surprised. He moved his right hand to shook hands with the princess. "Of course, princess." When he looked at her smile, coming from a young girl, he felt a warm beating in his heart.

On the same night, they thought of playing hide and seek together. Loke was the 'it'. As Loke counted the number, Lucy didn't know where to hide. She thought that hiding in the rooms would be too easy for Loke to find her. When Lucy heard Loke's voice, she started to panic. She saw a huge hedge in the garden. When Loke's got closer, Lucy ran to the hedge and hide.

"LUCY! WHERE ARE YOU? PRINCESS LUCY!"

Lucy can hear Loki's voice. She closed her mouth with her both hands, not to make any noise. Once she gets caught, she will be the 'it'. Lucy tried hard not to get caught by him, or she might lose the game. When Lucy felt that Loke's appearance was getting near, she realized there was a pathway, she quietly ran. As she ended up with two pathways, left and right, she was confused of which way she would choose. She chose right.

Then she ended up with three pathways, she chose the middle. For her, she started to realized that she was inside the maze. After a lot of turnings, going left and right, straight, and finally entered the middle, she was inside the circle. Inside, there was a small open house. She went inside the open house, and sat there to wait for Loke to find her.

For five minutes of waiting, Loke hasn't found Lucy yet. Lucy was starting to feel cold. Worst, her parents might starting to get worried for her. Even if she wanted to get out of the maze, she would get lost worst. " _Lucy, if you get lost, don't move from that spot, don't go anywhere, because mommy and daddy will be the one to find you. Understood_?" Those were the words that her mother told her to. So, she did. She waited and waited until her parents will find her.

Lucy was shaking. She couldn't take the coldness anymore. She was starting to lose her consciousness; she was getting tired, and sleepy. She looked up at the stars thinking what she was going to do. Hoping that someone can save her.

There was a sound of a stomp—Lucy was stunned. She regained her consciousness. She stood up, turned around where she heard the footstep, and saw a child hiding on the hedge. Lucy stepped backward, frightened.

"Who is there?", she said.

No one answered.

Lucy couldn't see the child's face from the shadow. When she got out of the small open house, she tried to approached the child, and the child walked away. Lucy told the child not to go.

"Why?", the child asked.

"Eh? Uhm..."

Lucy was confused. She didn't know why she does that. On her mind, she thought, " _I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me_." She was afraid that she was going to be alone. For how many minutes of waiting, she already found someone to talked to. But, she doesn't know the person.

"Why don't you come out?", Lucy said.

"I can't"

"Why, not?"

"Would you get afraid?"

Lucy didn't know what the person was talking about. She giggled as if he was kidding. But the atmosphere looked serious. When the child stepped on the light, it appeared to be a boy. He had a spiky pink colored hair, with horns on his head. He wore a simple red shirt, a black knee length trouser, and black shoes. When Lucy looked what was behind him, there were wings attached to his back. "Wh-what are you?" Lucy was shocked.

The boy didn't answer.

When the boy gave Lucy the look, she noticed that his expression was different. His eyes didn't match to his angry expression. It was as if he looked depressed. The way Lucy looked at him at his appearance, especially with his horns and wings, probably made him depressed. But Lucy never meant to do so.

"I'm sorry", Lucy apologized.

"Why are you apologizing for?", he asked.

"Uhm...for being rude. I didn't mean to"

"That's okay. I mean, I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to scare you with my look"

When the boy smiled, Lucy felt guilty for making him apologized. She knew the way he smiled at her, wasn't fake at all. But he still looked depressed. Lucy thought something to make it up for him.

"Let's be friends", Lucy was in a rush to say it.

"Huh?"

"What's your name?"

"Wait—your face is so close"

Lucy didn't care. She knew the boy won't tell his name that easily. When the boy looked away, blushing, Lucy giggled. His shyness was shown. The boy wondered what Lucy was laughing about. Lucy wouldn't tell him. Though he doesn't find it fair, he let it slide.

"My name is Lucy", she smiled.

"N-Natsu...my name is Natsu"

When the boy told Lucy his name, Lucy was happy. He doesn't get why Lucy wanted to be friends with him. But the way he felt, it was his first time encounter someone. Someone who is different.

"So what are you Natsu? Are you a fairy?"

Natsu wanted to say 'stupid' to her, but he wouldn't. It would be obvious of what he was by just looking at his horns on his head and his wings on his back.

"I'm a dragon"

"What? You're a dragon? You don't look like one. I mean—aren't dragons are big ferocious beast?"

Natsu started laughing. He explained that he was a half human, half dragon. His father was a dragon. He was raised by a dragon when he was little. Lucy was confused. He figured. But he couldn't go any further. He didn't want Lucy to know all the details about dragons, most especially his powers. Lucy understood.

"So what are you doing here?", Natsu asked.

"Huh? Oh...uhm...my friend and I were playing hide and seek, and, well...uhm...I"

"You got lost, aren't you?"

Lucy didn't want to admit it. She looked down, holding her pink dress tightly. Natsu didn't say anything after. Instead, he asked her another question.

"Are you cold?"

"M-maybe"

"You sure are not honest with yourself"

Lucy was being silent. His words may be hurtful for her, but she didn't argue. Natsu was scratching his head, thinking of what he should do. He called Lucy, opened his palm to her, and a small fire just came out of his hand. Lucy was amazed.

"How did you do that?"

"Well, I am a dragon after all"

"I thought a dragon use only his breath to let out fire"

"True, but I can do anything"

Lucy started giggling. When Natsu heard her laugh, he blushed. It was his first seeing someone smiling. He wondered if Lucy was ever afraid of him. But the way she looked at his power, how she was amazed by it, it doesn't look like she was afraid at all. He thought he could see that kind of smile again.

The time they wanted to talk to each other longer, Natsu noticed, someone was coming. He led out his fire. Natsu told Lucy that he had to go. Lucy didn't want him to leave. Natsu figured that she would say that. He was afraid that if humans would found out, they would think he was doing something bad to her. They would create a misunderstanding, and he doesn't want that.

"Are we going to see each other again?", Lucy asked.

Natsu had no idea what Lucy was talking about, but when he looked at Lucy's expression, she was serious. He had a choice.

"We will. We will see each other, one day"

"Promise?"

"I promise"

Natsu gave Lucy a huge smile. When he heard footsteps, he directly ran away. Leaving Lucy alone in the maze, until someone came to her rescue.

A familiar voice called Lucy. There were people showing up. When Jude and Layla saw Lucy, they directly came to her. Layla hugged Lucy. Just as Lucy looked into their expression, they were horrified. She apologized. Loke was there. He looked relieved, but at same time, he was sorry for playing in the dark and not finding the princess. Layla forgive the young prince. She was happy that they found their daughter.

"Lucy, are you okay? Are you hurt?", Jude asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

The king and queen were surprised that Lucy didn't cry. They thought she would. Normally, young kids would cry when they are lost in the maze, it's dark and they don't know what to do or where to go. Surprisingly, Lucy was okay. But her parents were still worried for her.

"Okay everyone, let's go back inside the castle now", Jude said.

"Come Lucy, let's go back inside"

"Okay"

Lucy held her mother's hand. She looked back wondering Natsu would still be there, hiding. But he already left. Even though she only knew him for a little while, she believe that they will still see other again. She started smiling, making her mother wondered. All that was left for Lucy was waiting for the time to pass, until the next, until the next, until the next.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks after, Lucy went back to the hedge maze and inside the circle where she met Natsu. She thought she could meet him again—after making the promise. He didn't show up. Lucy was disappointed. Her mother, Layla, saw Lucy going out from the hedge maze. The queen called the young princess.

"Tell me, what were you doing in the maze, sweetie?", Layla said.

"I thought I could see 'him' again"

"Him?"

Lucy thought of not telling her mother about Natsu. She assumed of how Layla would react if her daughter was being friends with a dragon. Definitely, she would get scared.

"Uhm...my friend", Lucy lied.

"Your friend? You mean Loke?"

"Ah, y-yeah Loke"

"I see. So you want to see him, right?"

It wasn't what Lucy wanted, she didn't have a choice, so she nodded. Layla gave Lucy a pat thinking that her daughter already missed the young prince. At the same time, it wasn't the young prince that she was mentioning about. It would be suspicious of why Lucy would go back to the maze when Loke didn't find her at that time.

Layla remembered on that night, two weeks ago, when she wandered around the room looking for her daughter. While Jude, the King, was entertaining the guests in the party, noticed Layla was getting worried. He didn't know what was going on. "Excuse me, may I step out for a moment?", he said. He got out of the crowd, and approached his wife.

"Layla, is there something wrong? You look worried"

"Jude, dear, have you seen Lucy? I haven't seen her for awhile"

"No, I haven't. Isn't she with Prince Loke?"

Layla was getting anxious. She knew that Lucy and Loke were playing around after they decided to be friends with each other. But it had been awhile, and Layla was worried.

"Dear, I'm worried about the two of them", she said.

"Okay, calm down, let's not make any drama while the party is going on. We'll search for them together, okay"

They got out of the party hall, where the party was held, to search for their daughter and the young prince. They went every room in the castle, to look for them, but there was none. Layla looked out of the window, in case they were outside. There, she saw a young boy wandering outside—entering the back entrance of the hedge maze. She assumed it could be the young Prince Loke.

Entering down the main great hall, with Roman style double prehung door on each side—a checkered tiles—huge flat style double prehung door as the main entrance, they found the young prince.

"Prince Loke?", Jude called.

"Your Highness"

"Have you seen our Lucy?"

"N-no I haven't seen her."

The way Loke expressed his feelings, he was also worried. They had been playing hide and seek. Loke was the 'it'. He realized that Lucy has been hiding for a long time. He didn't know where she could be hiding.

"I'm so-sorry, your highnesses. It's all my fault. I would have stop the game if I—"

"Please don't apologize"

The king gave a pat on Loke's head, telling the young prince not to apologize. He could tell that he was trying his best to find Lucy. But he had hope that nothing bad was going to happen to his little girl.

"Anyways, let's go find Lucy. Together", he said.

"I have looked around inside the castle, Lucy is not around" Loke explained.

"Where do you think she could have been?"

Thinking of where she was hiding, Layla thought of something on her mind. The boy in the maze. She asked if Loke went to the maze.

"I haven't entered to the maze, your majesty", he explained.

"You don't think she would be there, right?" Layla said.

Jude thought of calling the guards. Not to make the guests worried, he called in his butler, and asked for two guards to guard the party hall. On the end, they started moving. The butler and the two guards went upstairs to the party hall, while the Jude, Layla, Loke, and three guards, went to the maze to looked for Lucy.

They walked at the back door of the castle, where the garden was headed. They got outside—the air was a bit cold at night. Layla was getting more worried. She prayed that her daughter was going to be okay. On her mind, she was thinking of the boy that she saw. She thought of who could it be. Possible, if she was right, that Lucy could be in the maze. Being stuck in the hedge maze would be scary, especially at night. She assumed that Lucy would be crying. Jude, on the other hand, held Layla's hand. He knew how worried his wife was, but he gave her a sign look that everything was going to be okay.

They entered the hedge maze. They splitted up—one guard was going to the right pathway with the royalties, while the other guard was going to the left pathway. The king thought there was chance that Lucy was in the small open house; he knew the pathways. When Jude suddenly pointed out the final pathway, Layla went straight ahead of them. There Lucy was, behind the small open house, standing, and staring at the exit of the hedge maze. Layla called her.

"Lucy?"

A young princess, wearing a pink dress, turned around, saw her parents. Layla ran to her, and hugged her. She was relieved that her precious was alright. Nothing happened to her.

"Momma, Pappa...I'm sorry", Lucy apologized.

"That's alright! At least we found you Lucy"

After they found Lucy, they went back inside the castle. Layla had forgotten what happened, after finding her daughter. She was happy.

Two days after, while Layla was walking on the hallway, the queen found her princess going back to the hedge maze alone. She went down, going back to the garden, and called Lucy. After calling her name twice, Lucy went out of the maze. Lucy was surprised.

"What is it momma?", Lucy said.

On her mind, she remembered something. Though she wanted to forget everything what happened on her birthday, she was starting to get curious; especially when Lucy was alone inside the maze. Layla didn't want to question her daughter. So she let it slide.

But everyday, Layla noticed that Lucy kept going to the hedge maze—day and noon. She wasn't worried—just curious. She figured, not only Lucy was in the hedge maze alone, she was with someone else. " _Could it be the boy, that went to the maze, was with Lucy on that time_?", she questioned herself. Layla thought she could be right, but she didn't want to point it out on her daughter. She wanted to hear the truth from her.

The moment Layla asked Lucy the question, her daughter mentioned "friend". There was a flick on her mind. She knew if she asked Lucy another question, she won't tell the truth. So she played dumb with her—thinking Loke was her only friend. It didn't matter to her anymore, about everything, about who could that boy be that Lucy was looking for. But at least, for her, he didn't hurt Lucy nor make her cry.

On the afternoon, Layla went to her husband's office. There he was, on his study table, doing the documents. After the last page, he placed his pen down on the table, and stretched his arms. He suddenly saw his wife.

"Oh Layla, I did not know you were coming", Jude said.

"Well, you were doing on your papers. And you were so serious"

"I'm a busy king, my beautiful queen"

Layla giggled. When Jude stood from his seat, his wife told him not to. Layla touched her husband's shoulder, and gave him a massage. Asking him how it felt, he was laughing. Teasing his wife that she was good in giving a massage.

"My great _masseuse_ ", he laughed.

"I wouldn't be your queen if I was your masseuse"

"What are you talking about? You will always be my queen in my eyes. It doesn't matter if you were a commoner or a maid, I see a beautiful woman standing beside me."

When Layla heard the most beautiful words from her husband, she was happy. She giggled; hugged her man on his neck, and gave a kiss on his cheek. Jude turned his chair—facing to his wife—touched her waist with his left hand, up and down, kissed and touched her left arm with his other hand. He began to embraced her. Layla placed her forehead on his—telling him how much she loved her husband. Jude replied back, "Me too, I love you. So much." His lips touched his wife's red lips. And began to giggled at each other.

"Okay, you have work to do", Layla said.

"Its your fault for making me stop"

"Telling me that—you should thank me for giving you a massage"

Jude couldn't say anything anymore. He thanked Layla for taking care of him. He got his pen from his table, started going back to his work. While Layla went to one of his shelves, getting a book; reading _The Adventures of Dancing Dragons_. "Oh, by the way", Jude said, "I wonder what Lucy was doing—going back and forth in the hedge maze." Layla figured that Jude would found out. But she didn't tell him the truth. She knew that Jude doesn't know about the boy that she saw. It may be guilty to lie to her king, but it would be best not to let him know. Everything was cool, enjoying their moment together.

The night came, stars twinkling in the sky, Lucy went back to her room. She jumped on her bed, lying down, facing the ceiling. She couldn't stop thinking about Natsu. She thought he would kept his promise. It had been two weeks. Then, she heard a knock on her door. Her personal maid came to see the young princess.

"Princess Lucy? Dinner's ready", she said.

"I'm not hungry", she grunted.

"But princess..."

Lucy didn't say anything. The maid had no choice but to leave her alone. Before the door was closed, Lucy told the maid to turned off the light. The maid switched the lights off, and directly closed the door. Her room was dark. From outside of her window, the sky was clear; the moon brightened. Its light entered Lucy's room. It was so bright—Lucy couldn't stop looking at it. But then, it made her sleepy. On her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about Natsu. She only met him once, but she felt she wanted to see him. So she made a wish. A shadow was formed on the floor of Lucy's room. A young boy, Natsu, sneaked inside from her window. He approached the sleeping Lucy. He stared at her for a moment, sat down on her bed, poking her squishy cheek. Lucy mumbled. Natsu sneered at her sleeping face. When Lucy made a sound, Natsu knew she would be awake. He stood up and made a move. The moment Lucy opened her eyes, she saw Natsu—about to fly out of the room. Lucy stopped him. " _Again_?", Natsu thought. He turned around and said _hello_ to her, with a bit of laugh.

"Geez, what took you so long?", Lucy pouted.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"I won't forgive you for making me wait that long. You didn't keep our promise"

"It's been two weeks. It's not that long"

Lucy didn't listen to him. She kept pouting and crossed her arms together. Natsu knew that she would be angry, so he thought of something.

"Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to fly around with me?"

Lucy was stunned.


	3. Chapter 3

"Can you? Can you really fly?", Lucy was amazed.

"Are you making fun of me? How did I even came up here anyway?"

"I'm kidding"

Lucy laughed.

Natsu sighed. Even though it was a lame joke, he had to pinched her face. He thought of doing it, but he couldn't since he made her angry for the first time. Doesn't want to do it twice.

After a moment of silence, he began to walked towards Lucy. He held her hand — leading her to the window. Looking down, she was having a second thought. Lucy was afraid of heights. Her room was on the third floor of the castle. It was high up, like the view, outside of the castle, could be seen from her window. She let go of Natsu's, walking two-steps backwards. She was afraid that she might fall to the ground. But Natsu encouraged her not to be afraid. "Don't worry, I will definitely hold you. You just have to trust me on this", he said.

"But what if I fall...are you going to catch me?", Lucy trembled.

"Of course. I will be there to catch you. Trust me!"

Natsu showed Lucy the gesture to hold his hand. Lucy didn't move. It wasn't just because she doesn't trust Natsu — she was just afraid. But all the sudden, Natsu grabbed her hand the second time. "If you trust me, then you shouldn't be afraid, right?" Looking at Natsu's smile, Lucy began to lose her nervousness. His bedazzling smile that polished from the moonlight, brought Lucy's fear to ease. Her heart was calmed. Giving a nod to go, it wasn't that long both of them started running to the window. Natsu's dragon wings were ready to took off; he flew out from the window, landing his feet on a wooden will of the window; using his back to gave Lucy a ride. He had to be sure that Lucy was safe and okay. Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck; holding it down so he won't get choked.

"Are you ready?", he wondered.

"Yeah", she nodded.

Natsu began to flapped his wings. Lucy was surprised. As soon as they took off, she couldn't feel anything under her feet. Her heart was pounding; while looking down on the ground, moving her head on that direction only, she quickly closed her eyes and put her face on Natsu's back. But Natsu comforted her to calm down. Heads up, his face was closed to hers — Lucy blushed. Then, suddenly, leaned her head at Natsu's back.

As she looked at her side, she saw the colorful roses at her family's garden — the whole area of the rose garden can be seen outside from Lucy's room. Each block of vase, in each column, has different colors of roses. It was wide that Lucy could ever imagined. The petals shone when the light scintillated from the moon. So pretty, Lucy couldn't take her eyes off from them. She called out Natsu, turning his head to the direction that Lucy pointed at, he was amazed too.

"Its like its shining", Natsu said.

"I know right"

They giggled at each other. From then on, Natsu thought of wanting to go higher. Lucy wasn't sure if he could do it, since his wings were still small. Like the size of his whole arm. Also, it would be dangerous since they were just kids. A sound of a grunt, Natsu was trying to control his wings. Lucy was worried that he was forcing himself to do it. Understandably, Natsu was not strong enough yet to go for something extreme. She couldn't tell that to herself because she might hurt his feelings. She asked to stopped. Natsu stopped grunting, huffing for air. They stopped moving. Then, suddenly, he looked at Lucy with a serious look.

"You..are you really that heavy, Lucy?", he asked.

"Huh?"

Lucy was confused. When Natsu asked her the second time, Lucy couldn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to answer from his question, that suddenly just came out of the blue.

"Hmm? Lucy?"

"Wha-I-I don't think so"

"Oh, I see"

Lucy assumed that he didn't care. But what was the purpose of asking, that was what she wanted to know. _Is Natsu being stupid?_ , she thought. She looked at him, doing some thinking, at his back. She doesn't know what Natsu was thinking about; it was like he had some deep thoughts on his mind. "Ah!" Suddenly, he had come to his senses. It took a while; but the way he reacted was as if he was in shock. He looked at his right direction, sensing like there was something coming. He directly told Lucy not to let go. But Lucy was disoriented. She doesn't know what was going on. Then, a strong wind came to their direction all the sudden. There were out of balance. Natsu was trying to control his wings, and Lucy was about to fall. She let go when the wind hit at them. She hadn't anticipated that it was coming. That must had been what Natsu warned her about. But she didn't know. Natsu was going to grab her hand, while he was controlling his wings. When he had it, he rushed down to safe Lucy. He thought of catching her before she landes down on the ground. When he touched his feet on the dirt, he looked up, checking if he was in the right spot. Unexpectedly, Lucy landed safely. Lucy closed her eyes thinking she was going to die. As she opened them, she was relieved that she survived the fall; but felt a bit of pain on her head. Getting up wondering how she landed, Lucy felt something soft under her bum. Other than landing on the ground, which her head was about to get hit, there was something that supported her body. When she lifted up her skirt, a boy was lying down on the ground above her, grumbling, it was Natsu.

"Hey, that really hurts", he said.

" I-I'm sorry"

"Geez, you really are very heavy"

Lucy was embarrassed. She wondered if Natsu was angry — he wasn't. Other than being angry, he was grateful that she is alive. But Lucy insisted on thanking Natsu. "You really keep your promise", Lucy smiled. " You save me. And so I thank you." Natsu suddenly just stared at her, thinking, and remembering of what she really meant for 'promise'. He remembered the promise that he made to Lucy back then.

If she falls, he is willing to capture her.

And he did.

Keeping that promise, is what makes Lucy happy.

He did his job to keep his promises.

Natsu couldn't say anything. He looked away, telling Lucy to get off of him. The two of them were squatting on the ground; they were dirt around their faces, including Lucy's punk dress. They looked around, wondering where they were. Still in the garden of the Heartfilia's. Noticing on the soil, they were in a huge vase with many different kinds of flowers surrounding them. Different types of different inflorescence. Natsu touched his nose, left to right, as if the scent of the flowers itches him. Lucy giggled, wondered if Natsu was allergic to flowers. "No, I'm not allergic to flowers. The smell just ruins my sense of smelling", he explained. The princess was amazed by the fact that Natsu has a good sense. Most dragons have good sensation around their surroundings. But mostly they rely on their smelling, hearing, and sight when they are in danger. That was what Natsu believe. Lucy has been learning a lot, since she was home schooled, but she never heard anything about dragons and their abilities from her teacher. She wanted to learn something about the dragons from Natsu, but not tonight, maybe soon.

"Well, I think I should get going", Natsu stood up.

"Where you are going?"

"Home. My father is looking for me"

Lucy looked down, feeling depressed, showing a fake smile to him. "I see", she said. On her mind, she thought they could spent together for a longer time. Two weeks, that they hadn't seen each other. Then after, he suddenly showed up after so long. But she didn't know the reason why it took so long for Natsu to meet up with her.

"Hey Natsu, what have you been doing since last two weeks?", directly the princess asked.

"Huh? Oh...uhm..."

Natsu was hesitated. He looked up, moving his right foot, making a line mark on the soil. Seemed that Natsu couldn't tell her anything. But Lucy gave Natsu a look, staring at him with poor looking eyes, to pushed through of wanting an explanation. Natsu doesn't had much of a choice.

"Well, it's just that...I was grounded by my father", he explained.

"What? You were grounded? For what reason?"

"For meeting up a human. I was banned to meet with a human. He found out."

Natsu felt guilty. He explained that he disobey his father's order. The reason why he was forbidden to meet with a human was because of his look. He never look like a normal human. He is a half dragon. In the said town of Magnolia, they said that dragons are dangerous creatures. They burn and destroy everything. Possibility, that they were hunters trying to hunt a dragon. As for the dragons, it would be dangerous for them. Especially, for a young one. A son of a dragon knew that his father was trying to protect him. His father never wanted him to be seen by humans, or else he would be captured and get killed. Lucy may see Natsu like a human, but with his horns, wings, and a tail that she hasn't before the first time they met, she would think he is not normal. So in the end, he never meant to defy his father's words. All he ever wanted was to see what humans looked like for him. Thinking that, maybe, in a world where humans live, there are humans who are kindhearted to the dragons — even just one. After hearing his story, the princess felt pity for the dragon.

Suddenly, the princess stood up, hugged the young dragon and comforted him. Lucy understood his pain. The loneliness that he had was disconsolate for him. And his words, made Lucy sad. "It's okay Natsu, you're not alone", she said. Lucy's tone may be depressing, but she intended not to cry. Hugging Natsu was enough for her to show that she is there for him. Natsu couldn't say anything for awhile. Then after, he said, "I should get going". Lucy wouldn't let go. When Natsu felt Lucy was shaking, he looked at her, surprisingly she was holding her tears. He didn't know why she was crying. In his mind, he questioned himself, " _Is she crying for me?"._

"Hey, Lucy, are you okay?"

"Y-you...you..."

Lucy couldn't speak properly. Like she was been choked. But after a few breathing, she was able to said a straight phrase. "You will never be alone, Natsu. I will always be your friend. So, you are not lonely." She finally let out her tears. Natsu used his hand to wipe her face. "Geez, you don't have to cry for me like that. And don't say that 'I'm lonely' or what-so-ever. I have my dad and..." He stopped and looked at Lucy's crying face. "I have my human friend. Lucy." The crying princess asked about what he said, whether it was sure or not. Natsu let his usual huge smile, and said it from his heart that Lucy is his friend. The princess wiped her snot on her nose, and the young dragon continued wiping her tears out of her eyes.

"You look ugly when you cry", he teased.

"I do not", she pouted.

They began laughing like nothing happened. Then Lucy had an idea. To make Natsu happy, she thought of playing with him once he is free. Free from being grounded. Natsu was thinking for a moment, even though he knew she was stubborn about it, he said 'yes'.

The young princess and the young dragon made a pinky promise, to swore their promise.

Then someone suddenly cried out. Natsu and Lucy got down and hide on the flowers. They peeked on a small opening, and saw someone standing far from the their hiding place. It was a man wearing a blue uniform, carrying a long pointed spear on his left hand, and has a Heartfilia symbol on his uniform. Lucy was surprised, figured, who that man was. "It's the guard", she said in a low voice. She was worried. Her heart was beating, as soon as the guard was getting close to their hiding place. Once they get caught by the guard, he will see Natsu and call out her parents. She began to imagine of what they are going to do if Natsu was captured. While Natsu called out Lucy, to calm down. He suddenly knew what Lucy was thinking. Since there weren't much time, he thought of a plan. Natsu wanted Lucy to entertained the guard as a distraction. As soon as both her and the guard left the area, Natsu can directly run away. Lucy agreed and understood his plan. When her foot stepped out, the guard didn't know who it was since it was dark, he pointed out his weapon. When he realized that it was the princess he let it down. Surprised that he questioned the princess of what she was doing in a place at night. Lucy played her own part as a girl who liked to watch the full moon. The guard was confused of what she was talking about; then, he told the princess to go back inside the castle. It was cold and dark, he didn't want to get into trouble. He followed her going back inside, suddenly he turned around after he heard something. Lucy lied to him that it was just a cat hiding in the bush. The guard trusted her words.

In the end, Natsu was able to broke out of the Heartfilia's castle. He flew around, going back to his home. The little dragon went in a cave, in a mountain outside the town of Magnolia, carefully, slowly, walking inside. Then he felt a wind blowing towards him. He knew that it wasn't just a normal wind; it was like someone or something was giving him a blow. Natsu knew that it was his father, the Fire Dragon, Igneel. He was a gigantic dragon, has four legs, red thick skin, with scales around his body, head, feet and his tail; huge paws with sharp claws; his huge bony dragon wings resembles a bat's, with pointed tip; and number of black spikes at his back, down to his tail. He had a sharp triangular teeth, horns on his head, and a pointed nose.

"H-hi F-father", Natsu was anxious when he greeted. His father, Igneel, glared at him with his yellow eyes that liked glared in the dark. Natsu was thinking his father was angry at him. But Igneel began to questioned him.

"Where were you Natsu? I thought I told you not to get out from this cave", he said.

"I-I was just meeting a friend. So...uhm..."

"Friend? You mean...you have a human friend?"

"Y-yes"

Natsu was still getting nervous. He doesn't know whether he was angry or not. But he assumed that he was since he broke his father's words. Instead, he was wrong all along.

"Are you okay? Did you have fun?", Igneel said.

" Huh? Uhm...yeah, I guess so"

It was a shocked for Natsu that his father asked him those questions. Natsu thought Igneel would give him a punishment, but then he kept asking of what it was like being with a human. Natsu couldn't describe it well. So in the end, he said it was 'fun'. "I see. You have the best time of your life. At least you are okay." Natsu was confused as he felt the air was getting dense and serious. Igneel was quiet for a moment, then he began to spoke his words.

"Natsu, we have to move out"

"What? What do you mean father?"

Igneel had a hard time explaining but he made it clear for Natsu to understand. He told him that the townspeople began to wander around in the mountains, searching, for the dragon's whereabout. He figured that sooner or later they will find the cave. He and his son needed to move out. Natsu couldn't asked his father for a reason. He thought of not wanting to go, but it would be dangerous for him as well. And he has nowhere else to go but to stay with his father for safety. Since then, remembered the promise that he made with Lucy. If he leave tonight, he won't be able to see Lucy. And that he would break his promise.

"Father, I can't go yet", he committed.

"What did you say?"

"There is something I have to do. I made a promise. And I don't want to break that promise, again"

When Igneel saw Natsu's expression, giving a the look, he knew that his son was thinking about the 'human' that he met. Natsu was serious about it. So he gave him a chance.

"I will give you two days then, by the third day before the sun rises, we will leave. Understood?", he said.

" Okay then"

Natsu thought it wasn't enough. He wanted more to spent time with Lucy. His only friend.


End file.
